Baczynski fought through a pair of illegal knees to finish strong in all three rounds against Benoist, earning the judges’ nod on two of three cards.

The welterweight fight took place at UFC on FX 3 at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Fla. It was part of the preliminary card broadcast on FUEL TV prior to an FX-televised main card.

The taller Baczynski looked to strike at range in the early going, but Benoist worked inside and took the fight to the canvas with a powerful drive. Baczynski scrambled up to his feet, but he took an illegal knee to the chin while still kneeling, earning a brief timeout from referee Chris Adams when the fighter protested.

On the restart, Benoist nearly landed a “Submission of the Year” candidate, as he leaped onto his opponent from distance and tried to lock in a standing arm-triangle choke. He eventually gave up the attempt, but the creativity was impressive. it was Baczynski who then scrambled to top position and worked in a few ground-and-pound blows while avoiding upkicks.

In the second, Baczynski dropped to his knees for an early takedown, and Benoist tagged him with another illegal knee. Benoist immediately dropped to the mat in an apologetic disgust, but Arnold surprisingly did not take a point.

On the restart, Benoist moved the action to the floor, but he had to avoid a few submission attempts from Baczynski, not to mention a stiff upkick. Benoist tried to advance to a more dominant position, but Baczynski’s long legs preventing any sort of pass.

Baczynski scrambled up in the final minute, narrowly missing a flying knee and then controlling his opponent’s neck while dragging the fight to the canvas to again finish the round on top. More punches came in the end the frame, giving the judges something to consider.

Baczynski grabbed a quick Thai clinch to open the final round, and a knee scored in a transition open a gash on his opponent’s head. Benoit briefly brought the action down but was unable to capitalize. When the two went to their feet, the severity of the cut was evident.

Baczynski tried to lock in a guillotine on the feet and then hopped to his back in an effort to finish. However, Benoist easily pulled his head free and settled into his opponent’s guard. Benoist worked several short shots from top position, but Arnold stood the pair with one minute remaining, which allowed Baczynski to again turn the closing tide by throwing his opponent to the floor on another missed standing arm-triangle choke attempt and finishing in top position.

At the final bell, the two embraced in celebration of what was a back-and-forth gritty affair. All three rounds were close, but two of three judges favored the strong finishes from Baczynski, earning him a split-decision win with the always-bizarre scoring line of 27-30, 29-28 and 29-28.

“I definitely feel like I won the fight tonight,” Baczynski said. “I inflicted more damage and ended every round on top. I also don’t think he inflicted near enough damage to claim the win. He did much better on his feet and was much more well-rounded than I thought, but I earned this one.”

With the win, Baczynski (16-6 MMA, 3-1 UFC) now boasts a five-fight win streak. Benoist (6-1 MMA, 1-1 UFC), who deserves credit for fighting less than two months after the death of his twn brother, sees his perfect professional record vanish.

“It’s my fault for not finishing,” Benoist said. “I’ve had some personal things going in the past few weeks that have been difficult to deal with, but I can’t make excuses. I didn’t perform to my best ability tonight, but I did give everything I had.